Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the actions of the Hardin County Detention Center relative to the request of Sondra K. Jump for "a copy of the inmates['] rights and rules" violated the Kentucky Open Records Act. By letter dated July 19, 2004, Ms. Jump alleged that she had not received a response to her request from Chief Deputy Jailer Louis Lawson, but had been informed "that the visitation rules had changed and would go into effect as of July 1, 2004." Upon receiving notification of Ms. Jump's appeal from this office, however, Phillip Moore, Assistant Hardin County Attorney, responded on behalf of the HCDC. As correctly observed by Mr. Moore, her initial request made no mention of the "inmate rights and rules" to which she referred in subsequent correspondence. Although the HCDC staff indicates that Ms. Jump's requests were forwarded to the Hardin County Attorney's office, his staff "is not in receipt of additional requests for [] information." Apparently, "Ms. Jump's request[s] for a copy of the [Hardin County Detention Center Inmates' Guide] were lost in some breakdown of communication between the agencies. Neither the HCDC nor the Hardin County Attorney has any objection to providing a copy of the [Inmates' Guide] to Ms. Jump." Accordingly, Mr. Moore mailed a copy of the Inmates' Guide 1 to Ms. Jump along with a copy of his response thereby rendering any related issues moot.
Pursuant to 40 KAR 1:030, Section 6: "If requested documents are made available to the complaining party after a complaint is made, the Attorney General shall decline to issue a decision in the matter." 04-ORD-106; 04-ORD-046; 03-ORD-087. Applying this mandate, the Attorney General has consistently held that "the propriety of the initial denial becomes a moot issue" if access to the public records that the requester seeks to inspect or copy is initially denied but subsequently granted. 04-ORD-046, supra, p. 3, citing OAG 91-140. As evidenced by the foregoing authorities, any substantive issues relative to the Inmates' Guide became moot upon its release. That being the case, this office must decline to issue a decision on the merits of this appeal.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 A copy of the Inmates' Guide is attached to the HCDC's supplemental response dated July 28, 2004.